


Tumbler's Birthday

by i_need_more_sleepzzz



Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Gen, I don't think there is real swears though, I guess minor swearing, I wouldn't say swearing but like it takes the Lord's name in vain, but that's just newsies so if you don't like that idk what to tell ya, other than that it's really just fluff, skittery does smoke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:42:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24350746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_need_more_sleepzzz/pseuds/i_need_more_sleepzzz
Summary: Tumbler's Birthday is in a week, and Skittery wants to make sure that his first birthday at the lodging house is a good one.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 2





	Tumbler's Birthday

**Author's Note:**

> this is a lot longer than I had planned it to be, but that's ok I guess

"How many weeks since Christmas?" Tumbler asked Skittery out of the blue one evening.  
"Um…" Skittery thought for a moment, counting in his head. "Four weeks now, to the day, exactly." He smiled a bit and looked back down at Tumbler. "Why?"  
"That means my birthday's in one week!" Tumbler shouted, smiling widely.  
"Wait, what?" Skittery stammered, his smile faltering.  
"Well, mommy used to say my birthday's zactly five weeks afta' Christmas! So that means my birthday's comin'!" the boy said, still smiling wide.  
"Oh…" This was the first time Tumbler had told him this.  
"I can't wait for my birthday! I love presents! And cake!" Tumbler was still smiling, blissfully unaware of the look of anxiety on Skittery's face.  
Skittery mind was racing. One week wasn't a lot of time. How was he supposed to give Tumbler a good birthday, especially with Christmas having been only a few weeks prior? Skittery couldn't help but remember his first birthday after his parents passed. He was the same age as Tumbler, turning seven. Kids never really realize all that their parents do for them until it's too late. None of the boys had known it was his birthday 'til he told 'em, so he had gotten a couple happy birthday wishes, but it hadn't been anything like what the newly seven-year-old Skittery was expectin'. He remembered crying himself to sleep that night, and the next years he didn't even bother to tell anyone about his birthday; he had caught on that it wasn't really a thing that orphans could have.  
But he refused to let Tumbler feel that way. He deserved better than Skittery had gotten.  
Tumbler yawned loudly, breaking Skittery's train of thought.  
"Well Tumbles, guess it's time for bed, isn't it." Skittery picked him up and brought him over to the bunk bed. The room was still pretty empty, most of them older boys out havin' a good time, or downstairs playin' but some of the younger newsies were already in bed.  
"Skitty," Tumbler mumbled sleepily, "can you tell me a bedtime story?"  
"Alright, alright," Skittery said, setting Tumbler down on the bottom bunk gently. "Let me see… Once upon a time…"  
Tumbler was out cold within a few minutes. Skittery wished he could've said the same.  
~~~  
Skittery couldn’t fall asleep that night. He hardly ever slept well as it was, but when something was bugging him, it was nearly impossible for him to rest. He couldn’t stop thinking about Tumbler. He had just gotten that kid a pair of mittens for Christmas. That had taken nearly every cent he had. He’d been saving for a month to get those for him, and had skipped more meals than he could keep track of. Now, with a week’s preparation and only a normal month of wages, he had to figure out another gift for this kid.  
“What does he even want?” Skittery thought to himself as he turned in his bed. “He said he loves the cake, so I gots to get him some of that…” he groaned a little, knowing that alone would cost him a couple meals. He covered his face with his hands, rubbing his head. He knew that stressin’ about it wasn’t gonna help anything; that he should rest so he’d have more energy to sell papes and make the money he needed.  
He felt the bed shake a bit as someone hung over the side.  
“You up?” Itey whispered, peeking over the railing.  
“Go to bed.” Skittery rolled over to face the other side. Itey got down and walked around to face him again.  
“Come on Skit, what’s buggin’ you now?” he asked.  
“Jesus, you’re gonna wake up the kid, standin’ on the side of the bed like that!” Skittery whisper-yelled at him as he sat up.  
“Sorry,” Itey said stepping down. Skittery got up out of bed, and the boys made their way quietly out of the sleeping area. Skittery sat down on the top of the stairs, and found himself patting around searching for his cigars. Of course, he hadn’t grabbed them, so they were still in the room.  
“Here,” Itey pulled out one of his, handing it to Skittery. Skittery took it, and the match that Itey handed him after. Sure, smoking wasn’t technically allowed in the lodging house, but all the boys lived life strictly by the motto, “you’re only in trouble if you get caught”. And seeing as Kloppman never had any trouble sleeping through the whole night, Skittery wasn’t too worried about being caught.  
“Why you still up?” Skittery asked Itey.  
The boy shrugged. “I was sleepin’ but… I dunno, I just woke up a little while ago, and couldn’t fall back asleep. You?”  
“Thinkin’...” Skittery said bluntly, blowin’ out a puff of smoke.  
“About?” Itey questioned.  
“Tumbler told me his birthday is next week. He’s real excited. I don’t wanna let him down, but, damn, that’s short notice, and I’m barely makin’ a livin’ as is.”  
They sat there in silence for a few minutes.  
“You know,” Itey finally spoke up, “I’d be happy to help out. Bet most of the other boys would too. Between all of us, I’m sure we could spare enough to give him a decent enough birthday.”  
Skittery took a big inhale of smoke before saying anything. “Yeah, I guess, maybe that could work. I dunno, I wouldn’t want to put too much stress on any of the fellas.”  
“I don’t think it’ll be a problem Skit. You just worry too much.” Itey chuckled a little bit, putting his hand on Skittery’s shoulder to reassure him.  
“Gee thanks,” Skittery responded sarcastically, and put out the cigar. “Come on, we oughta get some rest.”  
The boys stood up and went back to the room. Skittery wouldn’t have admitted it at first, but Itey was right. And that helped him get some sleep that night.  
~~~  
The next morning, Skittery and Itey started asking around, telling the other boys their plan. They wanted to see who all would be willing to pitch in.  
Itey had been right. Pretty much every boy they talked to agreed to lend a bit of money to help out.  
“Great, but here’s the issue,” Skittery told Itey later that day as they were out selling papes. “Sure, a lot of the fellas are willing to help out, but we have no idea what we’re getting!”  
“You don’t have any idea what he wants for his birthday?” Itey asked.  
“All he said was he likes presents and cake!” Skittery said exasperated.  
“You really can’t think of anything?”  
“He’s only been around a few months! What, September maybe? It’s not like I know him that well! Hell, I didn’t know when his birthday was ‘til yesterday, you think I know what he wants!”  
“Skitty! Skitty!” Tumbler came running by. “Hi Itey!” he waved, and Itey waved back. “Skitty! I saw a kitty! It was grey pretty, and it made me think of you, cuz kitty rhymes with Skitty!” He jumped around excitedly, laughing as he spoke. Skittery couldn’t help but smile.  
“A kitty, eh. That’s amazing!” Skittery ruffled the child’s hair, making him giggle. “Why don’t you go play some more?” That’s all it took for Tumbler to go running off towards where he had been playing with the other kids before.  
“I got it!” Itey said as soon as Tumbler was out of earshot.  
“Got what?” Skittery asked confused.  
“He liked the cat! I saw some shop selling stuffed cat toys the other day! I bet he’d love it!” Itey grinned. Skittery felt a smile grow on his face as he thought about this.  
“Well, what are we standing here for, let’s go get it!”  
~~~  
They didn’t go and get it right away. They had to wait to get the money from all the boys. Most of the boys gave a nickel, some gave pennies, some spared dimes. It depended on how well they had sold that day. After collecting the money, Skittery followed Itey to a little alleyway.  
“Here we are!” Itey announced as he stopped walking. Skittery looked through the window. The place was dark, but he could tell it was a shop.  
“Is it even open?” Skittery asked, looking in.  
“Oh yeah. The lady, she’s kinda blind, so she doesn’t bother with lights cuz it’s not like it helps her see anything.” Itey laughed a little, but Skittery didn’t find it all that amusing. “After you,” Itey said as he opened the door.  
Skittery walked in, and the first thing he noticed was the smell. It smelled old and musty. “When’s the last time the lady cleaned this place?” Skittery mumbled towards Itey, but mostly to himself.  
“Last Tuesday!” an old lady’s voice huffed, causing Skittery to jump. “And don’t you know it’s rude to comment on people cleaning habits!” she snapped as she made her way into viewpoint. She had a cane waving around in front of her, and Skittery couldn’t help but stare at foggy eyes. “Who are you and what do you want?” She asked as she drew nearer.  
“It’s me again, Itey, and I brought my friend Skittery,” Itey piped in, moving forward. “Sorry about him, I can promise you, he’s rude to everybody, not just you.”  
Skittery opened his mouth to protest, but couldn’t think of a good argument, and closed it again.  
“Oh, Itey, Itey…” the old lady mumbled to herself. “You’re the one who tried to steal the candy and didn’t buy anything, no?  
“What? No I would never!” Itey said, as he inched his fingers towards the candy bowl on the shelf.  
“Then you should get you’re hands away from that candy bowl right now young man!” The lady snapped, and Itey dropped the candy he had his hands on. He laughed a bit.  
“You know, for a blind lady, you certainly see right through my act, Nella.”  
“I may be blind, but I know the likes of young boys. Now, I don’t think you’ve properly introduced your friend.”  
“Ah yes, Skittery, Nella. Nella, Skittery.” Itey motioned between them, as if that was useful.  
“Nice to meet you dear.” Nella said sweetly. The little light coming in through the window was enough for Skittery to see her grey hair, her wrinkly, yet kind face. But her face suddenly turned sour. “Now, what do you boys want? To waste my time? Either buy something, or leave!”  
Itey leaned towards Skittery. “Nella, she is so fickle. Can’t decide whether she likes company or not.”  
“I’m blind not deaf!” She nearly shouted. Skittery was startled, but Itey had to stifle his laughter.  
“Relax, Nella. We’ve actually come to buy something this time. You still got that stuffed cat?"  
She thought to herself for a moment, mumbling indistinctly. "Oh yes, the Ithaca Kitty. Yes, I believe I still have that in stock."  
"Great!" Itey smiled wide.  
Nella went to the back towards the end of the shelf. Off the shelf she grabbed the plush cat and felt it. "This is it, I believe." She turned to them.  
"It's perfect!" Skittery found himself saying.  
"Great! that'll be $1." Nella said flatly.  
Skittery and Itey quickly counted up the money.  
"How about we make it a deal of 75¢, Nella, what do ya say?" Itey asked, doing his best to sound sweet.  
"Make it 95¢," Nella said sternly.  
"Most we can do is 80¢." Itey said blatantly.  
"Least I can settle is 85¢." Nella stated. "I understand you boys gotta eat, but I do too."  
The boys searched they're pockets again. Skittery found a nickel hidden in the bottom of his pocket, and swore to God that he'd never doubt his existence again, though admittedly the didn't last long.  
"Deal!" Skittery said, holding the money out. It was a done deal, and the boys took the Ithaca Kitty home, wrapped in the paper that they hadn't been able to sell.  
~~~  
The rest of that week was dedicated to saving up money for the cake. Skittery's original plan had been just to get one piece for Tumbler, but since all the boys were chipping in, they felt like they should buy enough for everyone. But since cake's a specialty, that meant selling more papes and eating fewer meals. It hadn't been fun, but they knew it'd be worth it soon enough.  
~~~  
"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Tumbler, happy birthday to you!" sang a chorus of boys to wake Tumbler up on January 29, 1898.  
The smile on the new seven-year-old's face made all the missed meals and long days worth it for Skittery. He jumped out of bed a bounced around the room.  
"It's my birthday! It's my birthday! And you guys all sang to me! And we're gonna play games and eat cake and open presents!"  
"You got that right Tumbles!" Skittery smiled. "But, we still gotta works today, I hope that's alright."  
"Oh yeah! It's fun selling papes with you!" Tumbler shouted as he launched himself towards Skittery to hug him. Skittery beamed as he hugged Tumbler back.  
~~~  
That evening, after having sold their papes for the day, the boys all met at Tibby's to celebrate.  
"Bring us your best cake! We're celebrating a very special birthday!" Itey told Tibby as all the boys put some coins out to pay for the cake.  
When the cake came out, they all sang happy birthday to Tumbler again, and he smiled even wider than he had that morning, which hadn't seemed possible.  
They all feasted on the cake and forgot about the days they had gone hungry just so they could get such a treat. It was so delicious that they all agreed it was completely worth it.  
At the end of the day, back at the lodging house, all the boys were gathered playing games. That's when Itey went upstairs and grabbed what he had been hiding under his mattress. He came back down and handed the item to Skittery.  
“Hey everyone! There’s one last thing we’ve got to do to make this the perfect birthday!” Itey shouted to get everyone’s attention. He looked at Skittery and smiled.  
Skittery smiled back, then looked at Tumbler. “Hey Tumbles. This is for you.” He handed him the wad of newspaper. Tumbler took it and carefully unwrapped it to reveal his gift.  
“A kitty!” he gasped, his eyes lighting up brighter than the sun. “I love it!” He squealed in delight. The room filled with laughter, everyone was happy for Tumbler.  
“Wha’ cha gonna name it?” one of the boys in the group shouted.  
Tumbler looked deep in thought for a moment then proclaimed, “ I think I’ll name the pretty kitty Skitty!”  
Skittery felt his eyes water up. His face was hurting from smiling all day. Tumbler hugged him, and he hugged him back. Itey wanted in, so he joined the hug too. Before anyone knew it, all the boys in the lodging house were surrounding them, in a huge group hug.  
It was the best birthday celebration, not only for Tumbler, but for all the boys.

**Author's Note:**

> I do my best to reread and self edit, but it's nearly 3am, so idk how well that went. I hope this is good


End file.
